10 Bold Predictions For Wrestling In 2021
1. The Forbidden Door Opens
AEW wants this to happen.
Speaking on Talk Is Jericho way back in January 2018 - before All Elite Wrestling was founded, before All In even happened - Kenny Omega discussed his dream for professional wrestling and the manner in which he wished to change it: collaboration.
He's doing it right now. We are in the midst of an intriguing yet very optimistic Impact Wrestling crossover, and much as it has become the talking point of the industry, an-only tentative enthusiasm has marked the development. It's wild! It's shocking! It's...
...only Impact, the most recent pay-per-view offering by which wasn't remotely great.
If any performer can make this work, it's a creator of Omega's intelligence and ambition. But it's impossible for an AEW/NJPW cross-promotional war to not work in contrast.
Beyond the politics, there are more reasons why this can and cannot work. New Japan is a promotion bound to its own traditions, and the company has traditionally recognised the value of collaboration from top to bottom. The mid-'90s NJPW/UWF-i crossover generated its best ever gates, and the company for years has benefitted from sending its Young Lions out on excursion to gain experience and learn different styles between various affiliates.
But in storylines, NJPW isn't one entity positioned to go to war; the company is splintered between various factions. There's much to consider, but AEW is considering it at least, per Dave Meltzer, who reported in a recent Observer that Tony Khan has reached out via Rocky Romero.
New Japan is a company in desperate need of a new direction - the upcoming Wrestle Kingdom is the least interesting annual event in years and years - and AEW is a company intent on doing that which WWE refuses to build its future.
There's a need, there's a desire, and there's a chance.
Why not?